The Economics of Mark Teixeira

Yankee Star Almost Ended Up in Philly, Boston and L.A.; Leading the Majors in 'What Ifs'

ENLARGE

Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees makes a play at first in the American League Championship Series.
European Pressphoto Agency

By

Matthew Futterman

Updated Oct. 28, 2009 12:01 a.m. ET

Since his career began eight years ago, Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees has been everything scouts and baseball executives hoped he would be—a can't-miss talent with solid character, defensive prowess and power to burn.

As he takes the field in Game 1 of the World Series Wednesday, he's widely viewed as the kind of player a team is supposed to draft as a teenager and hold for a retirement ceremony some 20 summers later.

But Mr. Teixeira, who is just 29 years old, has averaged a new team about every season-and-a-half. His journey from Georgia Tech to the Texas Rangers to the Atlanta Braves to the Los Angeles Angels and ultimately, this season, to New York, highlights the modern complexities of Major League Baseball—a place where bankable talent can actually be a burden for teams and where the Yankees and their millions create an inexorable pull on the most coveted players.

Six Degrees of Mark Teixeira

Mark Teixeira has reminded several MLB teams who used to or could have employed him about what might have been.

Mr. Teixeira could have been on five of the teams in this year's postseason and two more who almost made it. The Phillies, New York's World Series opponent, could have drafted him in 2001 but passed because they feared he wouldn't sign with them. "We were all over him," said Ed Wade, the team's general manager at the time.

The Rangers, Angels and Braves all had Mr. Teixeira on their rosters but couldn't afford to keep him. The Boston Red Sox coveted him but came up some $10 million short last year after a tough negotiation. Even the Los Angeles Dodgers flirted with the idea of trading for him two years ago.

Had any of those teams succeeded in keeping or acquiring Mr. Teixeira, this postseason might have looked vastly different. As a third baseman, Mr. Teixeira could have given the Phillies an infield for the ages that already includes three perennial league MVP candidates—Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins.

This year, Mr. Teixeira and his 39 home runs could have put the Rangers or the Braves into the playoffs, or might have given the Los Angeles Angels the pop they lacked against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. As a member of the Red Sox, Mr. Teixeira could have given the team another young power hitter to build around—and replaced the departed Manny Ramirez in the batting order, creating another lethal combination with slugger David Ortiz, who had only one hit in the postseason.

Before landing in New York, Mr. Teixeira detonated every economic land mine in baseball. First, some teams passed on drafting him because they thought he wouldn't sign with them. Then, once he'd landed in Texas, he became the cheap kid on his first contract who made it easy to ditch the lavishly paid superstar (in this case, Alex Rodriguez). Next he became the promising player on the verge of a big contract who gets sacrificed at the trade deadline for financial concerns.

In coming to New York, Mr. Teixeira became the most controversial archetype of all: the mercenary superstar who signs with the first powerhouse willing to meet his demands (see: Yankees, New York).

After the Yankees spent $240 million to sign pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett this off-season, GM Brian Cashman spent an afternoon with Mr. Teixeira in Washington and decided he wanted him, too. "I had to dig a little deeper and ask a few more questions, but once I got the answers it became clear this was the guy we needed," said Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees' managing general partner, who approved the eight-year, $180 million contract.

As Yankees President Randy Levine put it, "The Steinbrenner family has never been afraid to put its money back into the team."

Mr. Teixeira is listed at 6-foot-3, but seems a few inches shorter. His football build belies his balletic ability on defense. In Game 3 of the ALCS, he made three unassisted put-outs with the bases loaded in the late innings—and, in the eighth inning of Game 6, a diving stop with a runner on second.

Interestingly, it was Mr. Teixeira's defensive skill that first complicated his baseball journey. In 2001, the Phillies wanted to draft Mr. Teixeira, who played third base in college, but the team already had an all-star at the position—Scott Rolen—and Mr. Teixeira had little interest in the franchise. The Phillies picked pitcher Gavin Floyd instead.

Texas chose Mr. Teixeira with the fifth draft pick in 2001 and called him up to the majors in 2003. Team executives were so high on him after his rookie year they hatched a plan to unload Mr. Rodriguez and as much of his $250 million contract as possible (Mr. Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees). "I thought he was a young Mickey Mantle," said Michael Cramer, the former president of the Rangers.

By 2007, Mr. Teixeira had become such a promising player that Texas no longer felt it could afford him. The Rangers sent him at the trade deadline to Atlanta. He lingered there for a year until the Angels picked him up in a trade in 2008. Angels owner Arte Moreno wanted to sign him to a long-term contract, but Mr. Teixeira chose to test the free-agent market.

Asked about Mr. Teixiera recently, Angels GM Tony Reagins shrugged, took a deep breath, and ticked off a list of players the team signed—Juan Rivera, Ervin Santana, Bobby Abreu, Kendry Morales—once "it became clear Mark was not going to be returning."

With the Angels out of the picture, the Red Sox went on the prowl in mid-November. Having Mr. Teixeira at first base would have freed up Kevin Youkilis to move to third to spell Mike Lowell, who had just undergone hip surgery. Ultimately, the Red Sox valued Mr. Teixeira at $172 million and stuck to their number, leaving the door open for the inevitable Yankees offer.

"Sometimes we land the player and sometimes we don't," said Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein. "More often than not, that discipline serves us well. In this case, the player went to a team that offered more money than we did."

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